Set aside time each day to cultivate and nurture your beautiful, rich, inner life. Develop a quiet and peaceful haven within yourself where you can connect with your own inner compass.

Listen, wonder, discover what intrigues you, and then follow your curiosity. One step leads to many. Soon enough you will find yourself spending some time each day doing what you love. You begin to share that pleasure with others. Not because you care what anybody says, but because what you’re doing feels so joyful.

And that joy is contagious. Others catch on. They come and join you. They sit beside you and listen as you sing your song or dance your dance. If you enjoy it enough, believe me, others will enjoy it, too.

Photo by Rushil Venkateswar on Unsplash

The payoff of living in the past or the future is you never have to do your work in the present.

The sure sign of a wannabe is s/he has a million plans and they all start tomorrow. I encourage you to take a moment right now, to consider this: are you waiting to receive permission from some omnipotent other – your spouse, your parent, your boss, an authority figure, to take action, to heed to your calling, and do what you know you need to do?

The fastest path to writing your book is to write. The quickest shortcut to creating your product? You guessed it. Create. You don’t need anyone’s permission to do that.

I had the good fortune to be placed on stage to capture an audience when I was only six years old. Shyly, tremulously, my young voice reverberated across the room. I think it was then, looking into the wide-open, enraptured eyes of my audience, that I realized the magnetic power of storytelling.

When I was seven, my first grade teacher put scotch tape on my mouth for speaking in class without raising my hand first. Ironically, I learned a lot about my power and my voice by having them taken away from me.

Through the years, I often felt as though the scotch tape was back on my mouth.

The tool that helped move me past the phantom scotch tape, was writing. As a freelance writer, I enjoyed the process of weaving words together as they formed and sculpted stories out of real life experiences. Although I was able to experience an emotion as I wrote, or visualize an image, the words didn’t always just fall down from the blue sky. Rather, I would sit, with unwavering faith in the process, and figure out word after word after word, as though deciphering a hidden code. Until, almost mysteriously, the story would actually come to life.

Not surprisingly, my voice returned. After my two books were published, I was back on stage with the heartfelt desire to entertain, enamor and encourage others to find their voice, their story.

Since that time in first grade, my stories have actually touched the lives of hundreds and thousands of people, both on the stage and on the page, and I also learned how to make it profitable.

Developing Magnetic Stage Skills

What’s the difference between a mediocre lecture and a magnetic presentation?

Whether you’re delivering a speech, conducting a workshop, presenting a new product idea or leading a teleclass, the answer is still the same: personal interaction.

When speaking, the goal is to connect to your audience in a personal way so your message will have more of an impact. Magnetic speaking is about building a rapport with your audience. Although this is developed partially by the verbal content of your presentation, a good portion of it comes from less obvious—and often nonverbal—elements. Below is a list of ways to build rapport…while still being subtle about it.

Start off with a bang. Begin your presentation with an interesting personal story. Personal stories warm up an audience not only to your topic, but to you as a speaker as well. Your personal story is like a snapshot of what a listener can expect from the rest of your presentation. First impressions are powerful, so make the most of yours.

Speak to “one” person. When speaking to a group, it’s easy to get impersonal. To avoid this, imagine you’re speaking to only one person at a time. Powerful presenters have a way of making each listener feel spoken to directly.

Make eye contact. It’s pretty basic stuff. If you look people in the eye, you connect with them more directly. Of course, if you’re delivering your presentation or leading a class over the phone or Internet, your voice will have to convey this element of “I see you.”

Control your speed. Although it’s obvious advice, it’s easy to forget when you’re nervous: don’t talk too fast or too slowly. Talking too fast will make you appear uneasy, and listeners won’t be able to catch everything you say. Talking too slowly makes you appear boring and dull…yawn! Try to find that middle ground where your natural personality is free to express itself.

Shake it up. Vary the volume and rate of your speech—appropriate to your point, of course. When we talk to our friends one-on-one, we naturally vary these elements as our emotions and emphases shift. If you do this in your presentation, you’ll come across as more human. And more interesting.

Don’t be afraid to pause. The strategic use of pauses can make a point more dramatic and interesting to listen to, and as a result, more memorable. Don’t rush to fill the space of silence.

Humor always helps. Although you’re aiming for a professional image, who says professionals shouldn’t laugh? If you can make a joke (a funny one only!) or tell a humorous anecdote, go for it. Humor is the ultimate magnet in that it makes you more “real” and likeable.

It’s about them, not you. Make your listener the hero of your story. It may be your message, but it’s really not about YOU — it’s about them. It’s about your audience, your prospect, your client. Wrap your information, your message or your story, in the form of a benefit and make it clear about how it will make a positive difference for them.

What is your best tip for building a rapport with your audience?